Grocery bonus: who can get it and in what amount?

price increase products of the basic family basket led the government to announce a food bonus of 300 soles.

Although the price increase affects most Peruvians, the Minister of Economy, Oscar Grahamspecified that this extra money would only be provided to the most vulnerable families.

“The concept of this food bonus This is not a universal bonus that will be provided, as in the case of the previous bonus, yanapay, but rather it is targeted at low-income sectors and in a certain way softens the impact that price increases have. according to the basic consumer basket, ”he said during his participation in the Congressional Budget Commission.

Who will receive the bonus?

Graham points out that the payout of the bonus will be in two stages: first, it will be given to the beneficiaries of social programs, and then it will be delivered to citizens who are on the register, which will be prepared by the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion (Midis). ).

The minister indicated that 250,000 identified citizens who meet the criteria to be beneficiaries of these programs and subsidies will be added to the current number of beneficiaries of social programs.

But who should be included in the new register? University of the Pacific (UP) Public Policy Observatory head Alexandra Ames explains that these beneficiaries must be in a situation extreme povertythat is, people who can spend less than 200 soles per month on food.

“Within the targeting criteria, it’s important to be able to target the most needy people out of the big pocket of poverty we can have. This construction of the second section should also target urban areas, both in metropolitan Lima and elsewhere. urban areas We have more than 500,000 people living in extreme poverty in the country, so it is very important to work hand in hand with the standards that are being worked out in the common boilers and folk kitchens,” he said.

How much should the bonus be?

Although the bonus amount is expected to be around 300 soles, it has not yet been specified, but it has been determined that a total of 2 billion soles will be allocated for shipping. subsidywhich exceeds the budget of the Juntos del Midis program.

Former Minister of Development and Social Inclusion Carolina Trivelli calculated in the RPP how vulnerable Peruvians now need to face rising food prices.

“INEI cost estimate basic grocery basket That’s about 200 soles, food inflation was almost 15% year-on-year, so you’d need the equivalent of about 30 extra salts per person to offset the inflationary effect. This is not to solve your money or income problems, but to make sure that you are in the same situation as last year. for a family of 4, it takes 120 extra soles per month to make up for the situation,” Trivelli said.

Should more than one voucher be delivered?

Both experts agree that the state should evaluate whether more than one food stamp will need to be issued in case price increases continue to hit the poorest families, who, according to Ames, can spend up to 80% of their income on food. . . .

“BUT connection It won’t help much on its own, but it will help a little. Ideally, a series of bonuses could be provided throughout the year, bearing in mind that this is an emergency measure of social security and therefore it is very important that capacity development strategies do not stop during its implementation. household members so they can access better jobs,” said Ames, also a professor at the UP School of Government.

But specialists warn that this bonus should not be the only measure to help the vulnerable, as the government will also need to support communal pots and soup kitchens, and promote measures to create quality jobs.

“It is very important to be able to generate this bonus, which helps to mitigate this situation, but it is also necessary that Midis, hand in hand with the Ministry of Health, activate an adequate information and information campaign in order to families can buy quality food, and to prevent children from becoming anemic and malnourished, this should be complemented by help in communal pots and soup kitchens,” Ames added.

For his part, Trivelli recalled that additional measures have already been approved, such as the delivery of food through shared pots and the Qali Warma National School Feeding Program.